Songhai Empire

The Songhai Empire was a West African Sunni Muslim empire which existed from 1464 to 1591, with Gao serving as its capital. Sonni Ali established the empire after overthrowing the Mali Empire's rule, and Songhai conquered Timbuktu in 1468 and Djenne in 1475. The empire became very wealthy as a center of trade, and the Songhai took advantage of the Mali Empire's disintegration to conquer much of its lands. In 1493, Askia of Songhai seized power and instituted political and economic reforms throughout the empire. Askia's successors were weakened by a series of coups, and Songhai soon became unstable. In 1590, the Moroccan sultan Ahmad al-Mansur invaded Songhai, sending Judar Pasha to gain control of the trans-Saharan trade routes. Following the 1591 Battle of Tondibi, the Songhai collapsed and were conquered by Morocco.